EP 0 925 969 B1 discloses an air control device for an air-conditioning unit which has a housing for constructing at least one channel for guiding an air flow and at least one flap valve for controlling the air flow in the channel, the flap valve being arranged in the housing so as to be able to be rotated about a rotation axis for opening and closing the channel. To this end, the flap valve has a shaft, from which at least one wing protrudes. The shaft is rotatably supported about the rotation axis at least at one of the longitudinal ends thereof by means of a bearing location on a wall of the housing acting as a carrier structure. The bearing location which is constructed in this instance comprises a bearing opening which is formed in the carrier structure and through which the shaft protrudes. Furthermore, the bearing location is provided with an annular seal which is arranged coaxially relative to the rotation axis for sealing the bearing opening. With the known bearing location, the seal is formed by means of an annular sealing gap which is arranged coaxially relative to the rotation axis and which is constructed radially between an annularly extending cylindrical inner wall which is arranged in a rotationally secure manner on the shaft and an annularly extending cylindrical outer wall which is arranged on the carrier structure. Furthermore, the bearing opening of the bearing location has at the inner periphery thereof a cylindrical inner bearing face which is arranged coaxially relative to the rotation axis, the shaft having on the outer periphery thereof a cylindrical outer bearing face which is arranged coaxially relative to the rotation axis and which is in planar abutment with the inner bearing face.
In the known bearing location, the seal is axially spaced apart with respect to an axial portion of the shaft, in which the outer bearing face cooperates with the inner bearing face in order to support the shaft.
Other air control devices having bearing locations are known from WO 2006/037567 A1, EP 2 072 297 A1 and DE 10 2007 026 620 B4.